Funds for school police officers pitched

Maggie Gordon

Updated 10:30 pm, Friday, January 11, 2013

STAMFORD -- State Rep. Mike Molgano, R-Stamford, said Thursday he has written a bill that aims to help municipalities find funds to bring police officers into schools following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

"I don't know if I'm going to make headway with the governor putting money in for that, but it's something that I would like to pursue," Molgano said.

Molgano's proposal, which he said is a "high-level, general statement," pitches funding that would be available for districts to tap for hiring and maintaining school resource officers -- fully trained police officers -- in schools. It would not mandate that districts employ such officers, but rather would help subsidize those that would, he said.

"Right now, it's a general request to have grant money for towns who are willing to do this, so they can begin hiring officers to be in the schools," he said. "Like in Stamford, that's a lot of schools, and that's a lot of money."

Molgano is not sure how much money would be involved, since the figure would vary among municipalities, and even school to school within districts, as some operate before- and after-school activities that can sometimes draw hundreds of students.

While Stamford Public Schools recently hired unarmed security guards to add protection to the city's elementary schools, Molgano said he "truly believes" police officers will offer the best protection for students.

"All the gun laws in the world -- I don't think it's going to stop someone with such a focus to kill," he said. "And I want somebody in his way who knows what to do. Security guards sitting in the front with no weapon -- that person could take them out before they even have a chance to make a call. A police officer knows how to act. ... They're trained for stuff like this."

Molgano said his plan will not be an easy sell, whether for political reasons surrounding gun control or fiscal ones for the state.

"It's a money thing, and I'm not going to say I'm overly optimistic about it, but I have to do something," Molgano said. "It's too important. It's too important to me."